Second Chances
by HermioneG7
Summary: Neville and Susan Bones start to become friends and realize they have a lot in common. When they go to a dance together, sad things and romance start to heat up. Neville and Susan B. story!


Second Chances  
  
.:*:.  
  
Miggonagal sighed. "Neville, not AGAIN!"  
  
Neville blushed with embarrassment. "I.....I'm sorry Professor." he mumbled miserably.  
  
"Well, there's nothing you can do except go down to the Hospital Wing." she said, sighing and let him leave the room.  
  
Neville kicked the wall, then clutched his toe, which was now hurting. Must he always forget how hard the walls were?  
  
He walked frustratingly down the hall. It was his sixth year, and all anyone could think about him was the clumsy person he was. But he thought that might have all changed. True, he still was clumsy, as just in the class he just left he evidently turned his nose into a hot dog. That's why he was on his way to the hospital Wing.  
  
So, as I was saying, he was still a little clumsy, but he HAD helped Harry last year, hadn't he? Secretly he had hoped that would make people think of him a little differently. He even hoped maybe that bully Malfoy would be scared of him now. But no. He was bullying people even more now, especially Harry, since his father was sent to Azkaban.  
  
Neville reached the Hospital wing and tried to hide his face from the other students in the room. Madame Pomphrey rolled her eyes disgustedly at him, and quickly fixed his problem.  
  
"Thank you." Neville mumbled, and left, and didn't notice a girl running in his direction.  
  
.:*:.  
  
"NOT MY GOOD VASE!" shrieked Fluer Decluer, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, when her pretty vase on the nearby shelf tipped and fell to the ground as Susan walked by it. She had bumped into the shelf by mistake and knocked it over.  
  
"Oh! I'm so sorry! Here, let me fix it." said Susan worriedly, taking out her wand.  
  
"No, Susan, I'll fix it, just as soon as I calm down, Susan- SUSAN no!" but Fluer was too late. Susan had thought she had said the spell right, but instead of saying "Rep-A-ro" she said, "Repar-O-." which caused an explosion as the vase exploded into more bits, which some small ones cut Susan's hands and face.  
  
Susan stood, ignoring the pain and staring horrified at what she had done. The class was silent.  
  
"Just.... just go to the hospital wing and I'll clean this mess up." Fluer said in an angrey tone as she began to clean up. "GO!" Susan ran out of the room.  
  
.:*:.  
  
Neville and Susan collided in the hallway as Susan came running down the hall.  
  
"Oh my goodness I'm so sorry.... Neville?" Susan stumbled back up and helped Neville up as well.  
  
"Susan? Are- are you all right? I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."  
  
"No, no, it was my fault. I was the one running." said Susan, brushing herself off.  
  
'I didn't give you those scratches, did I?" asked Neville nervously.  
  
"Oh no. These came from an accident in Defense Against The Dark Arts. That's why I'm heading into the Hospital Wing."  
  
"Oh, right. Ok. Um, you can go in now. OW!" suddenly Neville fell to the ground, clutching his ankle.  
  
"What? What is it?" Susan said, crouching to see Neville's ankle.  
  
"I think I sprained my ankle or something when we collided."  
  
"Oh I am sooooooo sorry Neville! I feel so horrible!"  
  
"No, It's all right. I just have to get back into the Hospital Wing."  
  
Susan helped Neville limp back to the H.W.  
  
"Back again, Neville? What is it now?" asked Madame Pomfrey.  
  
"I....-"  
  
"We collided in the hallway and he hurt his ankle. And I'm here because I had an accident in Defense." explained Susan.  
  
The nurse sighed. "Get into the beds. You'll be fine."  
  
.:*:.  
  
As they waited for the nurse to come back, Susan turned to Neville. "Why were you up here in the first place?"  
  
"Oh....." Neville blushed. "I accidentally transformed my nose into a hot dog in Transfiguration." Susan leaned forward in her bed and was looking at him wide eyed.  
  
"I did that once! Talk about embarrassing." she said,  
  
"It happened to you too?" he asked, shocked.  
  
Susan nodded as she started to eat the chocolate that was on the dresser next to her bed. "How's your ankle?" she asked.  
  
Neville tilted his head and shrugged. "It's ok. So, what happened to you?"  
  
"I accidentally blew up one of Professor Fluer's vases after I broke it." she said. Neville stared at her wide eyed this time.  
  
"I do that by accident all the time with the cups in Divination! I can't touch any of the cups anymore." he said.  
  
"Really? Wow, we have a lot in common so far. Chocolate?"  
  
"Yes, thanks!" Neville said, grinning as he took a piece of chocolate.  
  
.:*:.  
  
"Neville's in the hospital again. He hurt his angle so bad he has to stay in there for a while. Susan Bones is in there as well. Don't know what happened to her." Ron was saying to Harry and Hermione.  
  
"Poor Neville!" said Hermione.  
  
"For hurting his ankle or being in there with Susan?"  
  
"RON! How dare you say that about Susan. You don't even know her! I was talking about his ankle." Hermione snapped.  
  
"Well, she IS a Hufflepuff."  
  
Hermione scowled at him.  
  
.:*:.  
  
"What wizard card did you get?" asked Susan. They were both still in the H.W. and were eating chocolate frogs after their lunch, which was brought to them.  
  
"Dumbledore again."  
  
Neville had to drink a potion that would help his bones heal, and Susan had to put on strange lotion every four hours to help her deep cuts heal.  
  
"I got- Harry?" Susan turned the card over and started to read it.  
  
"What? What are you talking about?" Neville said, trying to lean over to see.  
  
"Look." Susan got out of her bed and sat down next to Neville on his bed. Suddenly Neville felt a little nervous. Just then Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked it. Susan grabbed her card back and headed for her bed.  
  
"Uh, hi guys." said Neville.  
  
"Er- hi." said Ron and Harry.  
  
"We brought you your homework for the morning classes so you won't fall behind." said Hermione, giving him a stack of books.  
  
"Um, thanks!" said Neville, grinning uncertainly at them.  
  
"Well, we got to go now, Neville, but get well!" said Ron, who smacked him on the back as they left.  
  
"Ow!" Neville moaned.  
  
Susan sat in her bed looking away from him.  
  
"Susan, is everything all right?"  
  
"Yes! I'm FINE." she said.  
  
Neville was surprised at her tone of voice.  
  
"You don't sound it."  
  
She looked over at him. "I'm sorry. It's just that..........you're friends are so nice-" She paused, looking away again.  
  
"Are your friends mean to you?"  
  
"No. I just..........I don't have any."  
  
"What? Of course you have friends!" said Neville, shocked again.  
  
She was shaking her head. "No. All the Hufflepuffs think I'm clumsy and stupid. And everyone else thinks Hufflepuffs are stupid."  
  
"I don't think that."  
  
"Which one? That Hufflepuffs are stupid or that I'm stupid?" she said.  
  
"Both. You're not stupid at all. And how are they supposed to know if Hufflepuffs are stupid or not?" Neville said convincingly.  
  
"Thanks Neville. You know what? I was wrong. I do have a friend."  
  
Neville blushed a little and grinned at Susan, who grinned back.  
  
.:*:.  
  
"Let's go visit Neville while we're up here." suggested Harry as they walked by the Hospital Wing.  
  
"Good idea. I bet he's more bored than me in History of Magic!" said Ron, ignoring a small glare from Hermione.  
  
They entered the room and Ron was proved wrong. Neville didn't even realize them walk in. He and Susan were chatting away and laughing loudly. Susan was trying to put lotion on her shoulders.  
  
"Neville, can you help me please?" she said laughing. She sat down on his bed and gave him the container of lotion she had to use. Neville took it in his hand and didn't start to feel nervous until she pulled up the back of her shirt over part of her head so it wasn't covering her shoulders.  
  
"Um......er.......ok.......I'll help......." said Neville, and Ron, Harry, and Hermione quickly ran out of the room.  
  
.:*:.  
  
"What the heck was that?" Harry was saying as they left.  
  
"She's trying to flirt with him I'm sure of it. Tried to so her she has a good body. I can't believe she thinks Neville would fall for something like that! That's stupid! No one would fall for that!"  
  
"Oh really? What about before the Yule Ball. You said you wanted to go with someone GOOD LOOKING." Hermione said angrily. Ron started to blush.  
  
"I.......Er........"  
  
"Exactly. Now stop crying over it Neville is human too! He can do whatever he wants. Besides, just because Neville's..........Neville, doesn't mean a girl can't have feeling for him!"  
  
"What is THAT supposed to mean?" Ron asked suspiciously.  
  
"It means that if Neville and Susan like eachother, that's ok. You two don't need to be crying over it."  
  
"I wasn't crying!" said Harry.  
  
"And neither was I! But, Hermione, think about it. NEVILLE, and a- girl?"  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Weasleys." she said, and headed to Arithmancy.(sp?)  
  
.:*:.  
  
Neville put some of the lotion on his hands and started to rub it over her cuts. It was just then when he realized how bad they were.  
  
"Those must really hurt." he said.  
  
"Sometimes." she said, still holding her shirt over her head.  
  
"Ok, I'm- er- done." said Neville, handing her the bottle after she put her shirt fully back on. she headed back over to her bed and laid down in it. It was almost nine thirty.  
  
As he tried to fall asleep, Neville was awoken by Susan's voice. It was coming from right next to him.  
  
"Neville? Are you awake?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I.......I was just thinking while I was trying to go to sleep......."  
  
"Uh huh?"  
  
"And I was wondering if maybe...........well..........."  
  
"What?"  
  
"If you'll go to the Christmas Dance with me?" she blurted out. "If your leg's better by then, I mean."  
  
Neville leaned up from his pillow and looked at Susan with a surprised expression. she shrunk back to her bed.  
  
"You don't have to go if you don't want to." she said, climbing under her covers.  
  
"No, no no! I'll go with you1 I was just a little surprised."  
  
Her now beaming face emerged from under the blankets. "Really?"  
  
Neville nodded nervously. "Really."  
  
.:*:.  
  
Both of them were better after the next few days and were back in school. Nobody brought Susan's homework, so she was piled for the next week. Neville told her to meet him in the library so he could help her with some of it.  
  
"Oh Neville you are the nicest person I have ever met!" she said happily as they left the library. Neville flushed.  
  
"I'm so glad I'm going to the dance with you." she said, then grinning, she kissed him on the cheek. Neville turned dark red as she left him.  
  
.:*:.  
  
It was the night of the dance and Neville tried desperately to look good for once.  
  
"You look fine, Neville. Stop worrying. Who are you going with anyway?" said Ron, who was getting into his dress robes.  
  
"Ummm........ just a girl I really like........."  
  
"And WHO is that, may I ask?"  
  
"Susan Bones." he mumbled.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"SUSAN BONES!" he yelled out in frustration.  
  
"You like Susan Bones? That stupid Hufflepuff?" said Seamus Finnigan, who started laughing.  
  
Neville's face burned. "Hey, shut up. She's not stupid."  
  
Seamus just walked away, still laughing.  
  
Neville charged out of the dormitory, out of the portrait hole, and out into the hall where Susan was standing.  
  
"What are you doing here so early?" he stuttered.  
  
"Well, why are YOU here so early?" she said, emerging from the stairs so Neville could see her in her dress. It was a pretty pinkish red, and was strapless. She had a long white material that was tied around her shoulders and knotted in front of her chest, where it hung down to her stomach. There was another one around her waist. Her red hair was tied high up on her head like he had seen no other girl do before.  
  
"Wow." he said.  
  
Susan smiled. "But look at you! Oh you look so cute!" Neville blushed again.  
  
"So, why are you out here?" she asked, leaning on the rail of the stairs.  
  
"Oh, I just felt like it. You?"  
  
"I wanted to see you early." she said, then grinning, she took his arm and pulled him down the stairs.  
  
"You must see the Great Hall, Neville. It's beautiful!"  
  
"Are we allowed in yet?" Neville asked nervously.  
  
"I would think so!"  
  
Neville was about to saw something else, but forgot what it was once he saw the great hall. It was decorated as they never did before. It was much more beautiful than usual.  
  
"I TOLD you it was fantastic!" she said cheerfully.  
  
.:*:.  
  
Neville and Susan started to slow dance as the slow music started up, but Susan noticed Neville was jittery. "What's wrong?" she asked.  
  
"I.........I don't want to dance in front of all these people." he muttered.  
  
"Oh. Well, we could dance outside if you want." she said, then she took his arm and pulled him outside.  
  
"Outside?"  
  
"Yeah. You can still hear the music." she said, then she put her arms around his neck again, and he put his around her waist.  
  
Neville gulped loudly but she didn't seem to notice. She was staring out into the grounds, almost without blinking.  
  
"Neville." she suddenly said, looking at him again.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You know how both of our parents were........you know........Well, my parents were killed and yours weren't, but........." she paused, and looked like she might cry. Neville didn't want that.  
  
"Yeah." he said quickly.  
  
"Well, I........Have you ever felt like, like you wanted a second chance? To help them? Or............ to save them?"  
  
Neville gulped, and nodded. Susan started to hug Neville more than dance with him, and Neville hugged her back. He knew she needed it. He knew he needed it.  
  
"You're very brave." she said, and he looked at her in surprise.  
  
"I know what you did last year." she said, smiling weakly at him. He smiled a little back at her.  
  
"It must have been so scary." she said, leaning her head against his chest.  
  
"It was."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
They gently rocked back and forth as Neville told the story. When he was finished, Susan sighed.  
  
"Would you want a second chance to save Harry's friend? The one who died?" she asked him, lifting up her head to look him in the eye.  
  
"Perhaps, but I think that was all we could do."  
  
Neville and Susan slowly stopped dancing as the music stopped. It was late, and the dance was over. Susan's arms slowly slid of Neville's neck, and they stood, staring at eachother for a small moment. Then Susan smiled and looked towards the Great Hall door.  
  
"I think we should head back." she whispered.  
  
"All right." he said, then Susan grinned at him, and lifted her face and gave Neville a long kiss.  
  
When she pulled back, she smiled at his stunned face.  
  
That was your first kiss, wasn't it." she said, giggling a little. He nodded, a little embarrassed.  
  
"Mine too." Both of them broke out in smiles, and tilted towards eachother again, to share another kiss.  
  
(What did you think? OMG I think Susan and Neville are so cute together! More fanfics of them will come later :) 


End file.
